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Schooling argument

 
Ranch Hand
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Our daughter is only 15 months and yet this debate is upon us already!

it goes like this:

Me: I dont want to send my kids to a single sex school - its unnatural
and turns people into repressed freaks!
Her: I dont want to send my kids to public schools with junkies and
layabouts.
Me: I went to a public school and I did all right!
Her: So did I, and I missed out on the uni course of my choice because
I didnt get good enough grades. I was denied quality education because
my parents couldnt afford it.
Me: hmmm... but what about local community - surely it'd be better if
our kids friends were all local so we didnt have to drive across the city just for them to visit friends
Her: Surely its better drive our kids around so we know where they are and they
cant just walk down the street and disappear for hours on end
Me: .... and what about religious indoctrination? All these private schools
seem to be very big on the whole "christian" thing - I dont want my
kids growing up in that environment!
Her: What about Brisbane Grammar School - thats secular!?
Me: I dont want to teach my kids to be elitist, snobby and up
themselves - wouldnt it be better that they get a grounded social
upbringing? - and anyway we'd have to sell the house and move to a trailer park to pay for the fees!!!


Any thoughts? Anyone else like to contribute to this debate? Back me up? or shoot me down in flames?
 
Greenhorn
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As a relatively recent highschool graduate (1999) spending time at both a public highschool and a private highschool in Brisbane, I can probably help you out here.

The religious overtones in various private school educations aren't such a big deal, as most kids aren't particularly interested anyway thanks to tv. I think both private and public schools have their negative sides if your child falls in with the wrong crowd, though public schools are probably more destructive in this area, since the kids drop out a lot harder...

There's a lot more emphasis on doing well academically at private schools from the student population, though there's a lot more victimisation of kids who don't fit in.

The kids are probably a bit more "pent up", as a result of being in a single sex school, but I think thats more prevalent in the boys schools than in the girls schools...and no one ends up a sexual freak per se...also study's show that girls tend to do a lot better in all girl classrooms, since boys tend to be pretty disruptive

i'd recommend that you stay clear of the larger private schools, and take a look at some of the more moderate less established ones like Brisbane State High, Ormeau college or John Paul College.

nimai
[ July 22, 2005: Message edited by: Nimai Etheridge ]
 
mister krabs
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Send them to the best school available whether it is public or private. A good public school is better than a bad private school. All your arguments are about sexual repression or bad crowds are irrelevant. It all depends on the quality of the school. In my area, the best school happens to be the public school. (By "happens to be" I mean we deliberately bought our house in the school district with the best public schools.)
 
author and iconoclast
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One thing that's hard to appreciate until you've got kids in school is that every school is different. In my area (Montgomery County, MD, which actually has some of the "best" public schools in the US,) there's actually a lot of variability, even among the three or four public elementary schools within 5 miles of my house. I'd say, easily, that there's as much variation in quality among them as there is between the private and public schools in this area.

The important thing is that you do your homework, and once you've made a choice participate and pay attention. Things are different (in the US, anyway) than they were when I went to school lo these many years ago. You can't just hand them a paper sack with a sandwich and an apple in it and push them out the door. Today schools are designed so the kids get out, to a large extent, what the parents put in (I don't know what that says about boarding schools...) But anyway, pay attention. Make sure the choice was a good one, and make sure you're doing what you can to help your kids succeed.
 
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participate and pay attention


Absolutely. You can't just buy the "best" education, send your kids away for 12 years and expect them to come back perfect.
 
Bartender
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Originally posted by Ernest Friedman-Hill:
...
The important thing is that you do your homework, and once you've made a choice participate and pay attention. Things are different (in the US, anyway) than they were when I went to school lo these many years ago. You can't just hand them a paper sack with a sandwich and an apple in it and push them out the door. Today schools are designed so the kids get out, to a large extent, what the parents put in (I don't know what that says about boarding schools...) But anyway, pay attention. Make sure the choice was a good one, and make sure you're doing what you can to help your kids succeed.



There's a balancing act here. Yes, you want to be concerned and involved, but to the right degree. I've seen a lot of local newspaper and television stories* over the last couple years about parents that get too involved. They "help" so much that they end up hindering the other students and sometimes even their own children.

Of course, you're more likely to see stories of parental involvement that goes bad, so that may skew the data. This story from Time magazine, has a little more info than "sound bite" stories you're likely to see on the TV news.

* Perhaps "anecdotes" is a more appropriate term here, considering the amount of in-depth research that was done for some of them.

Ryan
 
Ranch Hand
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Growing up, there were some Catholic schools that were in my area. The one that I'm thinking of was known to be full of HIV, was the drug capital of the area, and was not in a bad neighborhood.

From my observations, private schools have their bonuses, but there's just as much that a public school can offer IF THE PARENTS STAY INVOLVED. The school is only half of it. If the parents ignore their child's education in the best private school, I'm willing to put my money on failure.

I went to your typical public school. I turned out fine and my parents stayed involved in my education.
 
slicker
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I went to both private (Catholic), and public high schools (79 - 82). My public high school was one of the better ones on Long Island. I noticed more drugs in the Catholic H.S. (public school kids, would leave the school grounds during school hours, so they weren't always noticed; and Catholic school kids did not live near school, so there were less places to go before/after school.

I was in advanced classes in both schools and there just was no comparison to the genuine attention paid to students by the teachers. IMHO, a lay teacher could never go toe-to-toe with a nun when it comes to deeply caring. (which doesn't mean the lay teacher doesn't care!!)

I went on to both sets of reunions and the public school reunion couldn't hold a candle to the Catholic school one. I was never a big proponent of Catholic schools until that event. I saw the real community that had been nutured in us. Funny at the public school reunion, I expected a lot of community but it was as if people couldn't give a toss. I'll teach my children to stay away from drugs and send them to the Catholic school any day.

BTW, I must note that I don't really consider myself Catholic. Christian works for me...
 
Ranch Hand
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sometimes you will be surprised what the child comes home with

that isnt always from the school, that could be after school

unless you pick them up as soon as they finish school, which may mean too much control

in this view, you can choose a good community first, and choose a school in that community, ...you can move to that community if possible
 
Thomas Paul
mister krabs
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Originally posted by John Dunn:
I went to both private (Catholic), and public high schools (79 - 82). My public high school was one of the better ones on Long Island.



Where in Long Island? I'm in Plainview!
 
John Dunn
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East Islip & St.Johns (West Islip)
 
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